Intellectual dishonesty, such as plagiarism and piracy, is one of the most common menaces faced by researchers, inventors, and academicians. Hence through the years, it has become imperative for developers to exert more effort in protecting their works.
Aside from proprietary loss to the content owner, intellectual property(IP) issues also affect local industries. Counterfeiting, piracy, and other infringing activities demotivates potential investors from funding original works.
As a countermeasure to safeguard Filipino ingenuity, the Technology Application and Promotion Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-TAPI) runs its Intellectual Property Rights Assistance Program (iPRAP) to provide technical and financial support to Filipino inventors and researchers in protecting their IPs.
In 2019, DOST-TAPI received a total of 1,256 IPs applications that were successfully filed to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). Bulk of these applications came from the local state universities, colleges and private higher education institutions.
Particularly, the Zamboanga Polytechnic State College bagged the top spot in the list with 41 industrial designs. The Visayas State University ranked second with 20 utility models, while the Central Luzon State University ranked third with nine utility models and five industrial designs.
Of the total IP rights applications submitted to IPOPhL, almost 64 percent were drafted by DOST-TAPI’s in-house patent agents, saving the government at least ten million pesos from professional fees, if the same were contracted out to third party service providers.
While the pandemic may have affected IP rights applications due to varying mobility restrictions placed by local governments across the country, DOST-TAPI remains committed in delivering its outputs by making its iPRAP program available online.
At present, the Institute’s Inventors' System for Intellectual Property Applications and Grants (iSIPAG) is being upgraded to accommodate the surge of online requests for IP rights assistance. Through, iSIPAG, applicants simply need to create an account and submit necessary documents, saving them time in long queues and money in transportation.
For more information regarding the IP rights assistance program, please visit techtrans.gov.ph/how-we-serve/regular-programs/ .
DOST-TAPI S&T Media Service
NUR LEMUEL C. CASTILLO